February 2014

Dear Friends of Israel,

The assimilation of Jews in the Diaspora is a growing concern for Judaism. One counter-action is “Project Birthright”, which attempts to make a trip to Israel possible for all Jewish Jews from around the world, in the hope that some of them, or as many as possible, can be motivated to immigrate to Israel. The project is financed in part by the Nation of Israel, but mostly through donations from wealthy Jews.

A survey taken in America and in Israel to clarify the criteria for being Jewish turned up a few surprises. In the USA, 20 – 30 percent of the Jews describe themselves as non-religious, and see themselves as Jews based only on their heritage and culture.

In Israel, where secular Zionism has a long tradition, approximately 46 percent of Jews declare themselves as secular. Since there is generally a Zionist upbringing Israel, there is little danger that Judaism will become estranged in that country.

The survey also brought other interesting yet troubling results to light. Nearly 70 percent of American Jews believe that leading an ethical and moral life is an important part of being Jewish, while in Israel, eating Kosher, fasting during Yom Kippur and lighting candles at Hannukah are seen as the most important criteria for being Jewish, with less importance placed on ethical and moral values.

The special emphasis that American Jews place on the ethical and moral values might clarify their declining relationship with Israel, particularly among the younger generation. It’s difficult for them to make a connection between a serious concern for justice and the complex settlement policies of Israel, which inherently create problems for the Palestinian population.

Daniel Statman wrote about this topic in the Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper, saying that American Jews have much to learn from the Jews in Israel, but when it comes to ethical and moral values, the Israelis could learn much from the American Jews. It’s high time for Israelis to recognize that above all, Judaism carries an obligation to have ethical and moral values. It’s time to It’s time to get back to the powerful and inspirational viewpoint of the ancient Hillel, who lived in the first century and summarized the Torah as follows, “Whatever you don’t want others to do to you, you shouldn’t do to others. That’s the Torah, go and learn it.”

The deterioration of moral and ethical behavior is appearing throughout all Israeli life, but particularly among the youth. We don’t typically report these developments in our magazine, but it’s important to know that Israel is not exempt from such things and thus intersession is needed here. Some of this deterioration is surely being caused by the divisions within Jewish society that stem from the separation of the school system into regular, religious and ultra-religious schools. The religious Jews should certainly have the responsibility of spreading the moral and ethical values of the Bible to the entire population, but instead, each group is only concerned with its own well-being.